the_singularityfandomcom-20200214-history
Ravenholm
Ravenholm is a former mining town and, later, a Resistance stronghold located in the Wasteland. It was previously inhabited by refugees who escaped from the Combine-controlled City 17 to join the Resistance, but is largely deserted and infested with Zombies and Headcrabs by the time Gordon Freeman passes through. Overview The town of Ravenholm mainly consists of small to medium-sized houses that are mostly traditionally built, being made from concrete and wood. Several high-rise apartment buildings can also be seen in some sections of the town such as the area near the Coast and the area near the room with the dismembered zombies inside. These buildings, along with the streets, appear vaguely Eastern European, complying with the style of buildings seen throughout Half-Life 2. It would seem that Ravenholm remained "under the radar" for some time, but it was eventually discovered by the Combine, which led to its destruction via a massive Headcrab Shell bombardment, causing the town to become completely overrun with Headcrabs and Zombies. Being linked to Black Mesa East via a tunnel, the entrance to Ravenholm was sealed shortly after the bombardment using a heavy gate, two barricades of crates, and guarded by stolen Sentry Guns to prevent Zombies from reaching the facility. Alyx Vance points the gate to Ravenholm out to Gordon Freeman during his tour of the lab, and explains (with a hint of fear in her voice; thus hinting that she was either there before or heard about what had happened to the citizens) where it leads and that it was "sealed for a reason." Later, Gordon is forced to escape through Ravenholm when the Combine raid Black Mesa East, during the chapter "We Don't Go To Ravenholm...". Many areas of Ravenholm are littered with large saw-blades, propane cylinders, barrels of flammable material and booby traps which have been contrived by Father Grigori. The entire town is also littered with humans and Standard Zombies that have been hanged, burned, sliced and suffered other horrific fates by Grigori's traps. Due to the relative lack of ammunition in the area, Gordon must rely on traps and the Gravity Gun (with which he can launch blades and other projectiles) to destroy Zombies. Features Father Grigori set up many traps and structures in order to dispose of Zombies more efficiently. The traps are engineered so that Zombies can randomly stumble into them but they can be easily circumvented by normal humans. In addition to traps, Grigori separated Ravenholm into districts using wooden barricades (so Zombies can be found in a more organized manner). Traps *'Car traps' are makeshift traps created from a rope, a pulley, a car and an engine. The car is tied with a rope from a pulley to the engine. When activated, a lever on the engine removes the tension on the rope, causing the car to drop and crush anything beneath it, after which the engine immediately pulls the car back up again. *'Electric traps' simply shock and repel Zombie trespassers. (Only one of these can be found in the chapter, and the player has to deactivate it to progress onwards.) *'Propane traps' are attached to irrigation sprinklers that, when released, fill a small area with flammable propane vapor. The gas can be ignited with a gunshot or an electric spark (from the red switches stationed near the propane tanks) to create a large fire which will quickly incinerate any enemies in that area. *'Propeller traps' are found all over the town. They are created from engines and long, makeshift serrated blades that appear to be made of steel sheets. The engine rotates the steel sheet, and uses it as a horizontal rotor. The blade spins in a waist high arc, and will dismember any passing target. Human s can easily avoid this trap by crawling or ducking. Standard Zombies, however, are unaware of the dangers and proceed unaware into the range of this deadly contraption. Poison Zombies are capable of decommissioning working propeller traps. At least one propeller trap encountered blade will detach when activated, and when picked up, will automatically position itself horizontally (much like the circular saw blades). It can then be thrown with the Gravity Gun. Appearances ''Half-Life 2'' After being separated from Alyx during the Combine's attack on Black Mesa East, Gordon Freeman is forced to travel through Ravenholm. Armed with his newly acquired Gravity Gun and an assortment of weapons, Gordon traverses the desolate, Zombie-infested town, all-the-while utilizing bizarre traps. While fighting off hordes of Zombies, Gordon meets the last known human occupant of Ravenholm, Father Grigori. Grigori provides some assistance and advice to Gordon, such as arming him with a shotgun, and eventually leading him to an abandoned mine to escape the town. Category:Locations